GB2310352A

GB2310352A - Device for and method of transporting plants

Info

Publication number: GB2310352A
Application number: GB9603651A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stefano Cuffaro
Original assignee: KINGLEA PLANTS Ltd
Current assignee: KINGLEA PLANTS Ltd
Priority date: 1996-02-21
Filing date: 1996-02-21
Publication date: 1997-08-27
Anticipated expiration: 2016-02-21
Also published as: GB9603651D0; GB2310352B

Abstract

A device for the cultivation of plants comprises at least one inner container 1 containing a body of absorbent solid growth medium for supporting the growth of at least one plant, the inner container 1 having at least one hole in the lower part thereof, and an outer container 2 having a layer of an aqueous gel therein, the or each inner container 1 being located within the outer container 2 in such a manner that the hole, or at least one of the holes, therein is below the surface of the gel. The device is especially suitable for packaging seedlings, for example for retail sale. No special maintenance of the seedlings is required, the gel providing the necessary moisture. The seedlings have a greatly extended shelf life when compared with conventionally packaged plants.

Description

DEVICE FOR AND METHOD OF CULTIVATING PLANTS Field of the Invention This invention relates to a device for and method of cultivating plants, and in particular seedlings, and to a method of transporting plants.

Background to the Invention A problem with transporting seedlings for sale is that they are very delicate and can die if the correct conditions are not maintained. Where the seedlings are offered for sale in a supermarket or the like, it is very difficult to ensure that the correct conditions are maintained externally by the staff at the supermarket, who may not have the necessary expertise. It is therefore necessary to package the seedlings in such a way that they are maintained in the correct conditions by the packaging, and do not require any maintenance during transportation or before sale in the supermarket or other retail outlet.

One approach which is used to overcome the problem is to grow the seedlings individually in a larger volume of peat or other growth medium, in the hope that the moisture in the growth medium when leaving the nursery will be sufficient to keep the seedlings alive until sold. Unfortunately, this approach has two major difficulties. Firstly, the growth medium will tend to dry out, and if made too moist initially may tend to provide the wrong conditions for the health of the seedlings; too much water can be as damaging as too little. Secondly, peat and similar growth media are relatively costly, and it is desirable to minimise the amount used, but bulking out the media with non-absorbent materials such as perlite and expanded polystyrene beads does not increase its moistureholding capacity.

The use of silica gel as an additive to growth media and to the soil to assist in cultivation of plants is known, as is the use of silica gel as an aqueous growing medium on its own. It has now been found that an aqueous gel surrounding the plant growth container can be used in extending the life of packaged plants and the like, especially during transportation and on supermarket shelves.

Summary of the Invention According to the invention, a device for the cultivation of plants comprises at least one inner container containing a body of absorbent solid growth medium for supporting the growth of at least one plant, the inner container having at least one hole in the lower part thereof, and an outer container having a layer of an aqueous gel therein, the or each inner container being located within the outer container in such a manner that the hole, or at least one of the holes, therein is below the surface of the gel.

The device is especially suitable for packaging seedlings, for example for retail sale, to maintain the seedlings in the best possible condition while being transported from the grower to the shop and waiting in the shop to be sold. No special maintenance of the seedlings is required, the gel providing the necessary moisture both in the growth medium and, where appropriate, around the seedlings' leaves. The seedlings therefore have a greatly extended shelf life when compared with conventionally packaged plants.

The invention also provides a method of cultivating a plant, comprising growing the plant in a solid absorbent growth medium contained in an inner container having at least one hole in the lower part thereof, and locating the inner container in an outer container having a layer of an aqueous gel therein, such that the hole, or at least one of the holes, is below the surface of the gel.

Another aspect of the invention provides a method of transporting a plant to a desired destination, comprising cultivating the plant in a solid absorbent growth medium in an inner container having at least one hole in the lower part thereof, locating the inner container in an outer container having a layer of an aqueous gel therein, such that the hole, or at least one of the holes, is below the surface of the gel, transporting the containers, and then removing the inner container or containers from the outer container at the desired destination.

The gel is suitably a silica gel, for example that produced by mixing silica granules, such as those available in the UK from Datesand Limited under the designation FERTILE, with water. Other forms of gel may also be used, provided that the gel can release water to the plant growth medium when needed, and provided that the gel contains nothing which is harmful to the plants being grown in the medium. The proportion of water added to the silica or other gel-forming material is sufficient to permit controlled release of water to the plant, as required to maintain the necessary level of moisture, but not so much as to render the gel too liquid or mobile, thereby causing it to flow during the normal motion of transportation, and to spill.

The outer container is suitably a transparent plastics container which can enclose and protect the plants while allowing air to circulate through the container. The container preferably has a hinged lid or flaps which can be hinged outwardly to permit access to the plants and which can be fastened together, for example by a staple, to close the container and more preferably also to act as a carrying handle.

It will be appreciated that, although the device and methods of the invention are especially suitable for use with seedlings which, because of their delicate nature, require very careful handling if they are to survive, they may be used to advantage with larger and more mature plants.

Brief Description of the Drawings In the drawings, which illustrate exemplary embodiments of the device of the invention: Figure 1 is an end elevational view of the inner containers as an integral unit before separation; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the integral unit shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an end elevation of the outer container, with the flaps which form the lid in their open position; Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the container shown in Figure 3, showing the lid closed; Figure 5 is and end elevational view of the closed container shown in Figure 4, with the integral unit of Figures 1 and 2 installed; Figure 6 is combined top and underneath plan view of a frame for supporting the inner containers during filling, seeding and germination; and Figure 7 is a partially sectioned end view of the frame shown in Figure 6.

Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiments Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, the device comprises a plurality of frusto-conical inner containers la, initially vacuum-formed as an integral unit 1 from a rectangular planar surface 1b which is demarcated into separate containers by score lines 1c which permit the individual containers to be separated for convenience of handling when the seedlings are planted out, for example. Each container has an open lower end ld.

The seedlings are cultivated by means of the following process. The integral units 1 are located in a carrying frame 4 (Figures 6 and 7) which supports the underside of the planar surface lb. The frame 4 is suitably formed from expanded polystyrene and carries a plurality of the units.

After the units have been loaded on to the frame, the loaded frame is passed through a conventional filling machine which fills the individual frusto-conical containers with the absorbent solid growth medium, for example peat or compost. The growth medium may contain a proportion of non-absorbent fillers, such as expanded mica or perlite, or expanded polystyrene beads, to control the density thereof. This may be necessary to moderate the take-up of moisture, to facilitate the development of the seedlings root system, and to reduce weight and cost. The containers are then individually seeded, for example by conventional seeding devices, and then watered, before the carrying frames are stacked and then located in a controlled environment room, or a greenhouse with artificial illumination if required, for germination of the seeds to take place.

The containers are sized and arranged so as to produce small "plugs" of the peat or compost in which the seedling is established, and which can be readily removed from the container to be planted out, either direct into the soil, or into another pot.

After germination, and when the seedlings have grown sufficiently to permit their transportation and replanting, the units 1 are removed from the frames 4 and each is located in an outer container 2 as illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5. The outer container is, for example, vacuumformed from transparent plastics sheet material, and has a body 2a which is generally rectangular and of a depth just greater than, or identical to, that of the inner containers la. A shaped flap 2b is formed along two opposed edges of the body 2a, with a hinge portion between the body and the flap. The flaps 2b can be folded out to an open position as illustrated in Figure 3 to facilitate loading of the unit 1 and its removal when the seedlings are to be planted out. For transporting of the container, the flaps are folded up together as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the now upwardly directed flanges 2c along the outer edges of the flaps being secured together, for example by means of a staple therethrough, to form a lid enclosing the seedlings within the container. A triangular panel 3 at each end of the container is left open to facilitate circulation of air through the container to avoid the danger of condensation damaging the seedlings, for example.

A layer of silica gel approximately 15mm deep is introduced into the outer container 2 before the unit 1 is placed therein, the gel being formed by adding water to "FERTILE" silica granules in the proportions 2 litres of water to 10g of the granules. With water at approximately 40"C, the gel reaches the desired viscosity within about 30 seconds. The viscosity is such that the gel wets the surface of the inner containers and makes intimate contact with the medium therein at the hole, while not flowing too rapidly and being liable to move or splash during transporting of the containers. It has been found that the use of the gel extends the shelf life of the seedlings without further watering from about 2 days without gel to about 3 weeks when the gel is used.

Claims

1. A device for the cultivation of plants, comprising at least one inner container containing a body of absorbent solid growth medium for supporting the growth of at least one plant, the inner container having at least one hole in the lower part thereof, and an outer container having a layer of an aqueous gel therein, the or each inner container being located within the outer container in such a manner that the hole, or at least one of the holes, therein is below the surface of the gel.

2. A device according to Claim 1, wherein the aqueous gel is a silica gel.

3. A device according to Claim 2, wherein the silica gel contains about 99.5% by weight of water.

4. A device according to Claim 1, wherein the outer container encloses the inner container or containers.

5. A device according to Claim 1, wherein the outer container is transparent.

6. A device according to Claim 1, wherein the gel contains a dye.

7. A device according to Claim 1, wherein the gel contains plant growth nutrients.

8. A device according to Claim 7, wherein the gel contains a liquid fertiliser.

9. A method of cultivating a plant, comprising growing the plant in a solid absorbent growth medium contained in an inner container having at least one hole in the lower part thereof, and locating the inner container in an outer container having a layer of an aqueous gel therein, such that the hole, or at least one of the holes, is below the surface of the gel.

10. A method according to Claim 9, wherein the aqueous gel is a silica gel.

11. A method according to Claim 10, wherein the silica gel contains about 99.5% by weight of water.

12. A method according to Claim 9, comprising enclosing the inner container or containers within the outer container.

13. A method according to Claim 9, wherein the outer container is transparent.

14. A method according to Claim 9, comprising introducing a dye into the gel.

15. A method according to Claim 9, comprising introducing plant growth nutrients into the gel.

16. A method according to Claim 15, comprising introducing a liquid fertiliser into the gel.

17. A method of transporting a plant to a desired destination, comprising cultivating the plant in a solid absorbent growth medium in an inner container having at least one hole in the lower part thereof, locating the inner container in an outer container having a layer of an aqueous gel therein, such that the hole, or at least one of the holes, is below the surface of the gel, transporting the containers, and then removing the inner container or containers from the outer container at the desired destination.

18. A method according to Claim 17, wherein the aqueous gel is a silica gel.

19. A method according to Claim 18, wherein the silica gel contains about 99.5% by weight of water.

20. A method according to Claim 17, comprising enclosing the inner container or containers within the outer container.

21. A method according to Claim 17, wherein the outer container is transparent.

22. A method according to Claim 17, comprising introducing a dye into the gel.

23. A method according to Claim 17, comprising introducing plant growth nutrients into the gel.

24. A method according to Claim 23, comprising introducing a liquid fertiliser into the gel.